Larry Summers looks on as his former boss, Bill Clinton, speaks. Summers, who served as treasury secretary under Clinton, is now thought to be among the contenders for the same post under President-elect Obama.

(CNN) – With the nation’s economy stuck in the grips of a financial crisis it just can’t seem to shake, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for the next head of the Treasury Department is among a handful of the most important Cabinet choices he will make. Indeed, in a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 41 percent of those surveyed said the choice for Treasury will matter most to the country’s future.

Here’s CNN’s list of possible contenders to be Obama’s treasury secretary:

LARRY SUMMERS: The former chief economist for the World Bank also previously served as Secretary of the Treasury under former President Bill Clinton.

TIMOTHY GEITHNER: As president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Geithner played a role earlier this year in the acquisition of Bear Stearns and the bailouts of AIG and Lehman Brothers.

PAUL VOLCKER: Volcker was chairman of the Federal Reserve under presidents Carter and Reagan.

ROBERT RUBIN: Like Summers, Rubin served as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton. Rubin also spent more than two decades at Goldman Sachs.

JAMIE DIMON: As president and CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase, Dimon was involved in Chase’s acquisition of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual earlier this year.

Click here for additional CNN short lists for Obama’s potential cabinet.